Hobbes, the Magic Tiger
by Blu Taiger
Summary: A simple song stirs up long buried memories and a long forgotten friend for a certain young man.


**Hobbes, the magic Tiger**

**a Calvin and Hobbes fan fiction by Blu Taiger**

* * *

In a quiet suburban town, the stillness of the night was broken by a frantic plea.

"Dad. Daddy!" cried a small, wide-eyed boy, wrapped in his blankets and bed coverings for protection. After a minute or two, the boy was eased by the sound of the door creaking open.

"What's the matter, son?" Groggily, his unkempt blond hair in a great mess and clad only in a tattered undershirt and a pair of boxers, the boy's father made his way into his son's room.

"I had a bad dream." the lad replied. "I can't sleep, now."

His father heaved a deep sigh, bowing his head in response.

"I'm sorry, dad."

"Ah, it's alright." Calvin said, stifling a yawn. "I was awake anyway. So... how we gonna get you back to sleep? Some warm milk, perhaps?"

"No." the boy shook his head. "Could you just stay in here with me – until I go back to sleep?"

"Sure thing, bud. I'll stay up as long as it takes." he pulled up a chair to sit himself upon and prepared to wait. As he sat, he spotted his old guitar propped up against the wall. And an idea struck him. "Hey, how 'bout I sing you to sleep?"

The buy sat up, interested in this idea. "Does that work?" he asked.

"Sure it does! People have been sung to sleep for centuries. In fact..." he picked the instrument up and strummed a couple of chords. "Your Nana used to play this one song for me so I would fall asleep – well, allegedly. I was just a baby, so I don't really remember it too well."

"Oh, yes." the boy said, with new excitement. "Yes. Play that song, dad."

"All right." he said, smiling. His nimble fingers worked their way across the strings, strumming out the melody. Then he started singing.

"_Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea, And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee. Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff, and brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff. Oh_

"_Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea, And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee.  
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea, And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee._"

* * *

The very next day, Calvin was sitting alone. His son was at school and Susie was with some friends of hers at the spa. Usually, Calvin enjoyed these periods of free time. It let his imagination wander to things unheard of to others. Today, however, he was brooding.

The song he sang to his boy last night... it brought strange notions in its wake. Memories of a face, a form. It was something – some_one_ he once knew. Someone he should know! This face didn't seem to have any connection to that song. So how could such a simple child's song stir up so many memories?

Then, as he went into the attic, something caught his eye. There in the corner was a large cardboard box. The box's side had several words written on it, crossed out and written in again. Words like '_Transmogrifier_' and '_Duplicator_'. Intrigued, Calvin decided to have a look inside. The box contained nothing extraordinary; an entire collection of comic books, some baseball cards and an old water pistol.

His hand felt something else inside the box, though. Something soft and slightly coarse. Calvin brought the object out into the air and as he laid eyes on the scruffy face, a lump caught in his throat. "Hobbes!" And with that, years worth of memories came crashing like a tsunami. It was Hobbes! His very best friend in the whole world. They had done everything together.

_Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail  
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff's gigantic tail,  
Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came,  
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name. Oh!_

_Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea  
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,  
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea  
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee._

Together, Hobbes and he had shared the most extraordinary adventures. Exploring the forests and battling night time monsters, defeating a legion of evil mutated snowmen and even meeting aliens. Hobbes had always been there when Calvin needed him; whether it was for protection from the world or for words of wisdom or just someone to be with. He was a real friend.

Overjoyed, Calvin gave his friend a firm and powerful hug. But,... something was wrong. Calvin received no hug in return. No strong, furry embrace from the great tiger.

"Hobbes? Hobbes, what's wrong?! Say something, Hobbes!" But the tiger remained speechless. The limp paws slumped downward, unmoving. His glass eyes stared blankly forward, no glimmer of friendly mischief in them. What had happened? Hobbes had always been so full of life! Where was it now? Where was his friend?!

Then he remembered. One summer day, Susie had asked him to play. He usually avoided playing with Susie at all costs. However, Hobbes was in the washing machine and he had nothing better to do, so he accepted. Calvin was surprised – surprised by how much he had actually enjoyed himself that day. Sure he had told Hobbes all about it later, but from that moment on, things had started in a different direction. Calvin started playing with other humans more often after that. His time spent with Hobbes became less and less... until one day, he stopped seeing him.

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He stared at the stuffed toy in his hands, ashamed of what he had done. It was his fault, he had put Hobbes in this sorry state through his neglect. He held his friend tight to his chest. Tears fell freely now and he let them. As a final hammer blow, the last verses of the song echoed through his head, mocking his pain.

_A dragon lives forever but not so little boys  
Painted wings and giant's rings make way for other toys.  
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more  
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar._

_His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,  
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.  
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,  
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. _

"I'm sorry, Hobbes." Calvin cried. "I know it doesn't mean much after all these years, but I'm so sorry!" he looked again at that poor face. That shabby, worn, yet beautifully familiar face. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for an instant, Calvin could swear he saw something in those glass eyes. "Maybe..." he thought. "Maybe I can make it up to you."

* * *

The boy sat on his bed, ready to turn in for the night. He lay there under the covers, not quite ready for sleep lest the bad dreams should come back.

"Hey buddy, you in bed?" his father asked from the door.

"Yes." he answered.

"Good... I, uh, wanna show you something." He walked right in. His son sat up a little straiter, gasping slightly. Walking along side his father was a tiger, strolling ever so calmly like this wasn't at all unusual. The boy became slightly apprehensive as the great beast approached his bed.

"Son, this is Hobbes." Calvin stated, gesturing to the cat. "He was my best friend when I was growing up and, well, I want you to have him."

The boy looked at his father, uncertainly. "You... want me to have a... tiger?"

"Sure! He's loads of fun, he's a great listener and he's always around when you need someone to protect you. And I think he just might be able to keep those bad dreams away."

The boy looked at his father, then to Hobbes. As he looked at him, the tiger's lips moved up into a warm, friendly, reassuring smile. "Is he... safe?" he asked.

"Sure, he's perfectly safe – a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he's a big marshmallow underneath it all."

The boy looked at Hobbes again. His mouth spread into a great, wide grin. "Alright,... yeah, I'll take him!" And then, with great exuberance, the tiger pounced onto the bed and wrapped the boy in a strong embrace.

Calvin smiled at his son. He would be alright now, Hobbes would take care of him. He gently ruffled his boy's hair. "Goodnight, son."

"'Night, Dad."

"Sleep tight." With that, he left the boy's room. He paused at the doorway and stole one last glance at his pride and joy. He was already drifting off into the realm of dreams, his new friend clutched tightly to his bosom.

As Calvin walked on to his own room, tears flowed again. But these were new tears – happy tears. As he went, he quietly hummed to himself.

"Oh!_Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee, Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee._"

* * *

**A/N – Disclaimer:** I don't usually go for the old Calvin grows up and forgets about Hobbes stories, but I was thinking about the song one night and the plot just sort of struck me. Even though Hobbes is a tiger and not a dragon, the song does fit their relationship in that kind of way. Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review on your way out. As usual, Calvin and Hobbes are owned by Mr. W. and the song '_Puff, the Magic Dragon_' belongs to Peter, Paul and Mary. 


End file.
